Garment clasp



Dec. 29, 1959 HARPER 2,918,713

GARMENT CLASP Filed Sept. 9, 1957 so 9 9 a 2 i i 5 s i /3 i INVENTOR,

KATHERINE MAHER HARPER BY W/wtz. 0' W4? A TTORNEYS United States PatentGARMENT CLASP Katherine Maher Harper, San Francisco, Calif. ApplicationSeptember 9, 1957, Serial No. 682,905

3 Claims. (Cl. 24-259) The primary object of this invention is toprovide a garment clasp that is simple in construction, positive inaction and which will stay attached to a garment until manually removedtherefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment clasp in whichsaid garment is securely wedged between the strips of said clasprequiring manual force for the purpose of dislodging or taking olf thesame.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a clasp which issimple in construction, cheap to manufacture and which shall giveindefinitely long service.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a belt the free end of which is secured to the same by aclasp comprising the subject matter of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a back view of the clasp.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the clasp.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section of the clasp showing a piece ofmaterial wedged between the strips of said clasp.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same clasp showing a piece of materialwedged between the strips, and

Fig. 6 shows said clasp attached to a hearing aid container.

My clasp 1, preferably made of good spring steel, includes a shield 2,which is shown as being substantially rectangular in shape. Threeparallel strips: two outer strips 4 and 5 and a middle strip 6, areformed integrally with said shield 2, said strips being separated byslots 7 which are narrower than either of said strips. Preferably theouter strips 4 and 5 are of the same width, and the middle strip 6 isnarrower than the first mentioned strips. The strips 4, 5 and 6 are benttoward the backside of said shield. The radii of the bends 8 of theouter strips 4 and 5 are the same, and are somewhat bigger than theradius of the bend 9 of the strip 6. The latter strip has preferably astraight portion 10 adjoining said bend and its end 11 touches thebackside of the shield 2. The outer strips 4 and 5 are also formed withstraight portions 12, but their free ends 13 are bent outwardly and areinterconnected by a bridge 15.

Due to the fact that the curvature of the bends 8 and 9 are different,the straight portion 10 of the middle strip 6 is slightly depressed inrelation to the straight portions 12 of the outer strips 4.

-It shall be noted that the strips 4, 5 and 6 begin at a place where thebends 8 and 9 begin, so that the slots 7 between said strips extend intothe shield 2.

The clasp 1 may be used for different purposes as to hold a free end 20of a belt 21 as shown in Fig. l, or to fasten the ends of a necktie to ashirt, and for many other 2 purposes where it is desired to holdsecurely two or more layers of flexible material together. It may,however, be also used for fastening small objects such as a hearing aid25 shown in Fig. 6, to which a clasp 1 is secured in a manner shown insaid Figure.

The clasp 1 may also carry secured to the shield 2 various ornaments,stones, or a watch, a portrait.

The clasp 1 is used in the following manner: a piece 30 of material,which may consist of two or more layers of material or materials, isintroduced between the outer strips 4 and 5 and the inner strip 6, whichmovement is facilitated by the arrangement of the ends of said strips:the ends 13 of the strips 4 and 5 being directed outwardly and the end11 of the strip 6 touching the back wall of the shield 2.

The piece 30 is forced upwardly as far as possible. It slidescomparatively easily between and along the straight portions 10 and 12of said strips due to spring action of the strips 4 and 5, but when theupper end of said piece 30 approaches and finally enters the bends 8 and9, the forward motion of said piece becomes progressively impeded by thecomparative inflexibility of said bends and finally it becomesimpossible to push said piece any further. This last position of saidpiece depends upon its thickness and flexibility: the thinner and themore flexible the piece is, the farther it can be pushed into the bends.The piece finally becomes firmly and securely wedged. This wedgingaction is so strong that it is impossible to move said piece sideways.The only way to disengage said piece from the clasp is to pull the claspupwardly off the piece 30.

The upward movement of the piece 30 toward the bends 8 and 9 and itsprogress along said bends 8 and 9 is facilitated by the offset ordepressed position of the strip 6 in relation to the strips 4 and 5, andalso by the difference in the radii of said bends. But the farther thepiece 30 is moved over said bends, the less becomes the difference intheir offset, and hence the greater wedging action. Therefore this claspcan easily accommodate material of different thicknesses, andfurthermore said clasp may be moved to a position to hold said materialwith practically any desired force within the possibilities of saidclasp.

From the above description it is clear that I do not intend to hold myclasp on a piece of material by the pressure of the strips 4 and 5against the shield 2. In fact, there may be a space therebetween, asshown in Fig. 3. The holding force is developed by wedging actionexerted by said strips on the piece of material forced inbetween.

I claim:

1. A garment clasp comprising a shield and three parallel stripsintegral therewith, said strips being separated by slots and bent towardthe back side of said shield, the end of the middle strip touching theback of said shield, and the ends of the outer strips being flaredoutwardly and away from said shield to provide an open mouth betweensaid middle strip and the last mentioned strips, the radius of the bendof the middle strip being smaller than that of the other two strips.

2. A garment clasp comprising a shield and three parallel stripsintegral therewith, said strips being separated by slots and bent towardthe back side of said shield, the end of the middle strip touching theback of said shield, and the ends of the outer strips being flaredoutwardly and away from said shield to provide an open entrance for agarment to be inserted between said outer strips and the middle strip,the radius of'the bend of the middle strip being smaller than that ofthe two other strips; said middle strip being depressed in relation tosaid outer strips.

3. A clasp for garments comprising a shield, two outer parallel spacedstrips and a middle strip therebetween, bends connecting said stripswith said shield, the free end of the middle strip abutting the shield,and the free ends of the outer strips being flared away from the shield,the radius of the middle strip bend being smaller than that of the outerstrips, said middle strip being depressed in 10 relation to the outerstrips, said strips being separated by 4. slots extending into thebends'for admitting agarment therebetween and for wedging said garmentby pushing it toward and into said bend.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS893,353 McGill July 14, 1908 1,099,941 Scanlan June 16, 1914 FOREIGNPATENTS 474,279 Germany Mar. 14, 1929

